347 - Is It Time to Go Back to Apple’s Built-In Apps?

The latest In Touch With iOS with Dave he is joined by Jill McKinley, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Guy Serle. This week on In Touch With iOS, we cover Apple’s latest updates across Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV. The panel talks about live Friday Night Baseball coming to Apple Immersive Video, visionOS 27 Beta 5, and the latest iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS beta changes, including Siri improvements, bug fixes, and security updates. We also debate whether Apple’s built-in Mac apps are now good enough to replace third-party favorites like Fantastical and 1Password, and we compare backup strategies using Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, Synology, external drives, and Backblaze. Plus, Jeff raises concerns about Anthropic’s Claude watermarking approach and the risk of false positives for human-written content, and we look at Apple’s expanded Made for iPhone hearing-device support and its accessibility benefits.

The show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com

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Summary

This week on In Touch With iOS, Dave is joined by Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Jill McKinley, Eric Bolden, and Guy Serle for a wide-ranging conversation about what’s happening throughout the Apple ecosystem.

The episode kicks off with Vision Pro and Apple’s return to live sports in Apple Immersive Video. Friday Night Baseball is coming to Vision Pro with select MLB games presented live, giving the panel plenty to discuss about whether immersive sports could become one of the strongest reasons to own Apple’s headset. The conversation also explores what Apple could do to make the experience even more compelling, from stadium atmosphere and audio to better ways of making viewers feel like they’re actually at the game.

Beta This Week brings updates across visionOS 27, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS 27. The panel discusses visionOS 27 Beta 5 improvements to Siri, Mac Virtual Display, hand gestures, and Digital Crown behavior, along with the usual collection of fixes and refinements arriving across Apple’s platforms. Siri is also getting additional voice options and greater control over characteristics such as speaking pace and expressivity.

On the Mac, the conversation turns into a debate about Apple’s built-in applications. Are Calendar, Notes, Reminders, Passwords, Safari, and Apple’s other bundled apps finally good enough that Mac users no longer need as many third-party replacements? The panel compares their own workflows and discusses why some of them have started moving back toward Apple’s applications after years of using alternatives. Apple Passwords versus 1Password becomes an especially interesting debate: Apple offers excellent integration and simplicity, while 1Password continues to provide more advanced capabilities for users who need them.

Then the panel tackles something every Mac user should be thinking about: backups. Time Machine is only the beginning. Everyone compares their own strategies involving Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper, Synology NAS systems, external SSDs and hard drives, cloud storage, and Backblaze. The discussion highlights the importance of having multiple copies of important data, including at least one off-site copy. Jill also brings up a practical disaster-preparedness strategy: keeping important backups on portable drives that can quickly be grabbed during an emergency.

Jeff brings AI into the conversation from his blog with concerns about Anthropic’s approach to watermarking content that has been generated or even edited using Claude. If someone writes an article, paper, or other document themselves but asks Claude to proofread or rewrite a small portion, could the entire work subsequently be treated as AI-generated? The panel discusses the potential for false positives and the problems this could create for writers, students, educators, and anyone who uses AI as an editing assistant rather than an author.

Accessibility is also in the spotlight as Apple expands its Made for iPhone hearing-device compatibility list with dozens of additional devices. The discussion goes beyond the numbers, with the panel sharing real-world examples of how Apple’s hearing accessibility technology—including compatible hearing aids and AirPods—can make conversations and noisy environments dramatically easier to navigate.

Finally, Things We Found brings the usual collection of useful, interesting, and sometimes unexpected discoveries from the panel, including Synology storage, an Apple Watch band, an ALPR camera mapping resource, an extremely bright USB-C rechargeable flashlight, Batman viewing recommendations, and an animated wallpaper app.

Topics and Links

In Touch With Vision Pro this week

Apple bringing live Friday Night Baseball to Apple Immersive Video — selected MLB games will stream live in immersive 8K 3D on Vision Pro.

https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/10/apple-immersive-live-video-mlb-game-schedule/

visionOS 27 Beta 5 released.

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-vision-pro/

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/visionos-release-notes/visionos-27-release-notes

visionOS 27 beta users report hand-control and Digital Crown issues. Anecdotal/community report.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionPro/comments/1uvvylt/visionos_27_developer_beta_3/

Beta this week.

iOS 27 Developer Beta 5.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios-ipados-release-notes/ios-ipados-27-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/apple-seeds-ios-27-beta-5/

iPadOS 27 Developer Beta 5.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios-ipados-release-notes/ios-ipados-27-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ipados-27/

watchOS 27 Beta 5.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchos-release-notes/watchos-27-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/watchos-27/

tvOS 27 Beta 5.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/tvos-release-notes/tvos-27-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-tv/

iOS/iPadOS 26.6.1 maintenance betas.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ios-ipados-release-notes/ios-ipados-26_6-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/apple-releases-ios-26-6-1/

Siri AI gets additional voices and customization in Beta 5.

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/ios-27-siri-ai-voice-customization/

iOS 27 stability and refinement becomes a discussion topic.

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/ios-27-beta-5-everything-new/

In Touch With Mac this week

macOS 27 Golden Gate Beta 5.

Apple Developer Release Notes: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-27-release-notes

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/10/apple-releases-macos-27-beta-5/

s-october/

Which of Apple's built-in Mac apps do you immediately replace?

https://www.cultofmac.com/news/i-replaced-these-7-apple-apps-on-my-mac-heres-what-i-use-instead

Is the professional Mac dead now that Mac Studio effectively occupies the high-end desktop role?

https://www.macworld.com/article/3111630/is-the-pro-mac-dead.html

How much Time Machine storage does a Mac really need?

https://eclecticlight.co/2026/08/10/how-much-backup-storage-does-your-mac-need/

Other Topics

Apple Intelligence / AI

Jeff’s Blog! Anthropic’s Claude Watermark is Akin to an AI Poison Pill

https://jeffgamet.com/anthropics-claude-watermark-is-akin-to-an-ai-poison-pill/

News

Apple adds dozens more hearing devices to Made for iPhone compatibility.

https://9to5mac.com/2026/08/07/apple-adds-nearly-45-hearing-devices-to-its-made-for-iphone-compatibility-list/

This weeks “Things we found”

Dave: https://a.co/d/0gVTNlWU Synology 2-Bay DiskStation DS223j (Diskless)

Jill - Nice Aulumu A11 Watchband https://amzn.to/4x1LxXK

Jeff - Deflock https://deflock.org/

Eric - Infinity X1 7000L Dual Power Rechargeable Flashlight,7000 Lumen https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-X1-7000L-Rechargeable-Flashlight/dp/B0FLNB3W8Y

Marty: WallPer: Wallper is the live-wallpaper app trusted by Mac users worldwide. Native desktop and Lock Screen playback, automatic resource management, and a curated library - without daemons or workarounds. https://www.wallper.app/ 

Guy: Amazon Prime has 2 seasons of Batman: Caped Crusader. Animated series done by the great Bruce Timm from the Animated series. https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Caped-Crusader-Season-1/dp/B0CYFCLQ6B

Announcements

Macstock X wrapped up for 2026 what a great event! Stay tuned for the Digital pass coming soon Digital Pass | Macstock Conference & Expo

Our Host

Dave Ginsburg is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users and shares his wealth of knowledge of iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and related technologies. Visit the YouTube channel https://youtube.com/intouchwithios follow him on Mastodon @daveg65, , BlueSky @daveg65  and the show @intouchwithios

 

Our Regular Contributors

Jeff Gamet is a podcaster, technology blogger, artist, and author. Previously, he was The Mac Observer’s managing editor, and Smile’s TextExpander Evangelist. You can find him on his blog Jeff Gamet - Mastadon @jgamet Pixelfed @[e-mail] and Bluesky @jgamet.bsky.social‬ Podcasts The Context Machine Podcast  Retro Rewatch Retro Rewatch His YouTube channel https://youtube.com/jgamet Buy his art! Jeff Gamet Art

Marty Jencius, Ph.D., is a professor of counselor education at Kent State University, where he researches, writes, and trains about using technology in teaching and mental health practice. His podcasts include Vision Pro Files, The Tech Savvy Professor and Circular Firing Squad Podcast. Find him at [e-mail]  https://thepodtalk.net 

Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him by email at [e-mail], on Mastodon at @[e-mail], on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.

 

Jill McKinley works in enterprise software, server administration, and IT. A lifelong tech enthusiast, she started her career with Windows but is now an avid Apple fan. Beyond technology, she shares her insights on ai, nature, faith, and personal growth through her podcasts. Her content on YouTube at @smallstepswithai and follow her on X @NorthwoodsJill. Find all her work at http://jillfromthenorthwoods.com 

Chuck Joiner is the host of MacVoices and hosts video podcasts with influential members of the Apple community. Make sure to visit macvoices.com and subscribe to his podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @chuckjoiner and join his MacVoices Facebook group.

Guy Serle is one of the hosts of the new The Gmen Show along with GazMaz and email [e-mail]  @MacParrot and @VertShark on X  Vertshark on YouTube, Google Voice +1 Area code  703-828-4677